A pair of critically endangered Sumatran orangutans have been moved to a Kent animal park.

Brothers Hadjah, 16, and Malou, 11, have been brought over from Switzerland and are settling into their new enclosure at Port Lympne near Hythe.

The pair have been in quarantine after travelling overseas.

Bosses at the 600-acre reserve, which is home to more than 900 rare and endangered animals, say the end goal is to rewild the two orangutans if they can.

Simon Jeffery, animal director at Port Lympne, said: “We are so happy to offer Hadjah and Malou the sanctuary they deserve within our park and proud to be part of the conservation of this incredible species and hope visitors to the park will enjoy them as much as we enjoy caring for them.”

There are currently only 144 Sumatran orangutans in European zoos across 29 holders, with just 15 living in the UK.

Port Lympne, which works in partnership with The Aspinall Foundation to rewild as many of its animals as possible, is one of three institutes to house this species of orangutan. It is also the only one in Kent and the south east.

Orangutans are currently classified as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list.

Sumatran orangutans are one of the rarest subspecies, with around 14,000 left in the wild, making them one of the world’s top 25 most endangered primates.

In the wild, they are found only in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

The biggest threat to their survival is habitat loss caused by the expansion of palm oil and acacia plantations.

Young orangutans are still highly valued as pets, despite it being illegal to capture or keep them. This means orangutans’ mothers are invariably killed to obtain their infants.

A brand-new ‘Meet the Great Apes’ encounter will be available to book at Port Lympne from Wednesday.

Visitors will get exclusive access to the orangutans’ enclosure for an up close and personal experience with the brothers, along with meeting and feeding the gorillas.